On 3 November 2003, hundreds of homeless families occupied an abandoned clothes factory in downtown São Paulo, Brazil, the 22-storey Prestes Maia building. It had been empty for over 12 years. Working with a local NGO, the Movimento Sem-Teto do Centro (MSTC), Homeless Movement of Central São Paulo, the families cleaned out the building. In May 2007 Community leader Jomarina thanked Amnesty International on behalf of the Prestes Maia families.
